March 20, 2016
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The Federal Reserve held interest rates steady Wednesday and signaled it will lift them more slowly than previously indicated because of a weak global environment and volatile stock market. The Fed said in a statement said its rate-setting Federal Open Market Committee decided to leave the central bank’s benchmark interest rate in a range of 0.25%-0.5%. The decision was widely expected. The big change was in the Fed’s so-called “dot plot,” where officials penciled in only two quarter-point hikes this year, down from four in December.
“We continue to see risks,” Fed Chairwoman Janet Yellen said in a press conference after top officials met. But she also pointed out that “the U.S. economy has been very resilient in recent months.” |
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